Girl of Lavender
by NOPE.net
Summary: Join Sunday, a 17 year old girl from Lavender Town, as she and her Pidgey try to find their way in the world! But as they travel, they get caught in the plot of some not-so-nice organizations! Rated K now, but will become rated:M later in the story
1. Chapter 1: Girl of Lavender

A/N: Lets pretend that 10 year olds don't leave home. That is retarded. Who the fuck lets their kid leave home at 10? Irresponsible crack parents. That is who. That is the one canon change in this fic (that is on purpose). Enjoy.

"Kupi! Behind you! Dodge!"

The small bird of varying shades of brown, known by it's species as a Pidgey, turned midair and avoided the tendril of sparks that lanced by it, singing its feathers. Electricity was the avian Pokemon's worst enemy, and it knew to give the small yellow rodent on the ground no mercy if it wanted to emerge uninjured.

"Kupi! Let's finish this up! Tackle!"

For the last ten minutes, Kupi and her trainer had been lulling the Pikachu and his trainer into a trap. While whirling and dodging around the electric mouse's electricity, Kupi had been (as trained) rising higher and higher. The Pikachu's electricity stores were nearly out, another added bonus to the plan. Now the bird (a brown blur at this point) shot down like a bullet towards the yellow mouse, only occasionally swerving back and forth to dodge the small streams of pathetic sparks that the electric type released, although it was weak enough that they probably wouldn't really hurt her beyond a stinging annoyance.

From her high altitude, it made her body slam all the more devastating. The Pikachu, already tired due to its overuse of its electrical abilities, was knocked out easily by the attack. The Pikachu's trainer, a group of trainer usually referred to as a "Youngster," bowed his head and groaned, returning the Pikachu to its Pokeball, back into stasis. The trainer of the bird was rather surprised, most trainers checked on their Pokemon first before recalling them. The boy looked young though, she wasn't shocked.

The Pidgey's trainer, however, was quite jubilant. The Pidgey, having landed after the knocking the Pikachu out, hopped over to its trainer, cooing for approval. When it reached its trainer, the girl kneeled down. She looked about 17, and was simply clothed in a yellow sundress. The sun was shaded from her face by a wide-brimmed sun hat, which covered a cascade of semi-wavy brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. Her deep brown eyes were in an expression of victorious glee, with her mouth in a tight but happy smile, all set on a pretty but relatively average face. She reached out with a pale still-shaky-from-nerves hand. The sun bounced off the paleness of her skin, and was almost uncomfortable to look at.

"Kupi, you did so great! You did it even better than training!" She stroked the attention-seeking bird's back. Sunday was lucky that her avian's only needed reward was attention, most other trainers needed to provide treats or toys, but Sunday's primary and only Pokemon was cheap. Standing, Sunday turned to face her opponent with Kupi on her shoulder, shading herself from the summer sun under her hat. She extended her hand again, now under control, to the shorter boy. He looked surprised for a moment, most trainers weren't such good sports, and reached out his hand as well. They embraced hands, shook for a second, and went their separate ways. She didn't even really know who the boy was.

So went the life of a trainer.

* * *

><p>"...and just when I thought all was lost, Kupi swoops down, and BAM!" Sunday exclaimed to the enraptured children surrounding her, "The Pikachu was knocked right out!"<p>

The children all around her were in total attention, gasped at just the right places, whispered little 'oh-no"s when all seemed lost, and now, at the end of the rendition, clapped and cheered exuberantly. As exuberantly as a classroom setting would allow. They were in the kindergarten room of the Lavender Academy, which had a name that made it sound much more important than the six roomed wooden structure that it was. The Academy had about 100 students ranging from the ages of 5-17 who were well on their way to earning their Gym Challenge License. These kids wouldn't get their first Pokemon until they were 10.

It was a smaller school in comparison to most of the other Pokemon Academies across the Pokemon League regions of the world, but it was much larger than the smaller Academies you would find in towns like Pallet, or New Bark. Lavender Academy wasn't very distinguished, and it was one of the Academies that had the fewest alumni earn a badge at one point in their lives. Lavender Town was more famous for it's many Pokemon Graveyards and the Pokemon Tower. The only famous people from Lavender were usually powerful Ghost-type trainers, and it was hard to catch ghost types. Sunday wasn't holding out hope for becoming a Ghost-specialist, she found them exceptionally creepy.

The children all moaned as the teacher walked into the room, signaling the end of their recess period, and also showing that Sunday was to return to her instructional room. They enjoyed the times that she came to the room, Sunday didn't come every day. She liked to come a couple times a week to help out the teacher Ms. Linske, she was an older woman and Sunday knew that she was often tired out by the young charges she had. She was trailed by her Baltoy, a Pokemon that was exceptionally rare for the Kanto region. When she was younger she used to harbor a secret desire to become a Pokemon instructor just like Ms. Linske, but she had given up that dream long ago. Instructors were usually well traveled trainers, Ms. Linske was from the Hoenn region and had even won a few badges, or so she had said to Sunday a few times. That was the least of credentials that most Academies required of their instructors, and Sunday didn't hold illusions of becoming much. She was unsure of what she would do after she got her Licence, but on all sides of Lavender there were Cities with gyms, so her choices were many. Sunday didn't hold high hopes about defeating some of the gym challenges, but she could still dream and plan. Becoming lost in her thoughts about her future, she was startled back to reality by a small nudge and smile from Ms. Linske. Sunday gave her a thankful nod as the elderly woman adjusted her horn rimmed spectacles, and she scooted off to her classroom.

* * *

><p>Sunday was able pull off another Pokemon battle on her way home, she took down a traveling Hiker's Machop with ease, she did have the type advantage and the thing was more a brawn than a brain. Sunday was happy that she was already able to beat most unbadged trainers that came through Lavender, she had nearly graduated. There would be a tournament in about a week, and the winner got a good prize, some money and trainer supplies. Sunday wasn't too worried about that, she already had the money for most of the things she would need, although it wouldn't hurt to get the extra boost. She was more concerned about the people watching. In nearly every town and city there was an Academy, graduation tournaments were incredibly popular, and in a rural area like Lavender where not much happened, everyone was certain to attend. Having that many spectators was enough to make Sunday nervous as it was, but this was also the final evaluation for each and every student, win or lose their skills and ability to cope under pressure was tested. Most graduated, but there were always the whispers every year of those few who did not.<p>

There was also the problem of what her second Pokemon would be. It was the main pressures of the final test, all participants in the tournament had to catch a Pokemon and use it along with the one they were already allowed to have. They had about to a week to train these new additions, and although great things weren't expected from the trainers, it certainly was the only true test they had. Sunday had changed her plans for her second addition at least six times.

Sunday finished her thoughts of uncertainty as she reached the top of the long staircase that lead to her front door. She had long ago learned that her mother was good at picking out when she was worried or upset, so she had learned to school her emotions. It was hard to believe that in about a month, it would be a long time until she saw this house again. It was a normal two story home, painted brown with the paint peeling from age, her family had lived here for a few generations. She entered the front door, and smelled the delicious smell of home cooking. She would surely miss that when she left as well. She put a smile on her face, and went to enjoy a home life while she had one.

* * *

><p>Every night Sunday studied. She knew that she wouldn't probably get even one badge, but she so desperately needed to try. She didn't want to get stuck in Lavender, like most everyone who grew up here did. The only thing to do in Lavender was to work in odd shops here and there, but mostly temples, shrines, and graveyards. Sunday wanted to live life for along while before, if ever, she returned here. So that is why every night, for an hour or two while the rest of the house was asleep and her chores were done, she would look over her books, looking for facts that she had by this time mostly memorized. It meant usually being tired the next day, but she hoped that it would be worth it.<p>

It was rather dull, and sometimes she just felt like screaming, but whenever she felt that way, Kupi would usually hop over from her perch on the other side of the room, and let Sunday remember that she wasn't alone by pressing her warm feathered body up against her. Kupi never slept if Sunday wasn't sleeping first. If Sunday had one word to describe Kupi, it was loyal. Many Pokemon didn't give the smallest bit of care to their trainers other than a source of treats and attention. Sunday truly knew how lucky she was to catch such an intelligent and wonderful Pidgey.

So she read into the early hours of the morning with her little bird on her lap, reciting to her loyal companion the many common characteristics and attacks of rock Pokemon, and how to deal with them.

* * *

><p>A week had passed since the night that Sunday had studied Rock Pokemon, and although she had grown more nervous as the days passed, the day that she was to catch her second Pokemon she woke with a strange calm. Kupi seemed upbeat as well, she had obviously noticed Sunday's changed temperament, and she was obviously happy about it.<p>

"Well Kupi," said Sunday to her always listening never speaking partner, "I realized before I fell asleep last night, trainers really don't ever know for sure what they are going to do next right?"

Kupi cooed a noise that could have been an agreement, or could have just been a noise that a bird makes.

"Right. They have general plans, but they never for sure know what is going to happen. That is how today is. I know for mostlies what I will accept and won't accept, and we'll just have to deal... just try to be nice to your new teammate, alright?"

Kupi cooed again, although in Sunday's mind, it sounded a little less compliant than her previous noise. Sunday couldn't blame her though, she had Kupi since she was about ten years old, and she was probably nervous if not more than Sunday herself, of not being the only team member now. She would have to get over it, because if Sunday could help it, her next Pokemon wouldn't be the last addition to her team. Today Sunday wore one of her trademark sun dresses, she was one of the only serious trainers in Lavender to not have donned more specialized clothing. The light green dress reached her mid-calf, and was loose and billowy, but tight around the waist. She slung her satchel over her shoulder, grabbed her sunhat, and left the house. To catch her second pokemon, she had to schedule an appointment with the Academy, they would send a random instructor with her, to make sure she actually caught a Pokemon, and to make sure that it was the same one that she would be using in a week.

It normally took about forty five minutes for Sunday to walk from her home, and across the rural landscape. She noted that Kupi seemed excited, rather than staying on her shoulders or flying lazy circles far above her, she was flying all over the place in a playful manner, although she stayed within sight of Sunday. Sunday marveled at the surroundings that played around her while she walked. She saw Caterpie, Spearow, and even a Pikachu, and she wondered if any of those would be the Pokemon that she caught. Her spirits certainly had raised from earlier this week. The sun was just beginning to peek above the mountains that surrounded the valley that Lavender was in, and Sunday realized that she wanted to run. Although her clothes weren't quite practical for a trainer, Sunday had long ago learned that in most trainer situations, cute shoes didn't work out, but did keep her white sneakers nice and clean. Kupi caught up in her exhalation, and flew slightly ahead of her. Although she was quickly out of breath, she began to laugh as she ran, her dress billowing in combination of her running and the wind made her feel like a Pidgey herself. Much sooner than usual, the Academy loomed in front of her, and she took a moment to gather herself.

When she stopped, Kupi landed on her shoulder, and she petted her soft feathers for a moment before walking into the building.

* * *

><p>It was immediately a good start, Ms. Linske was waiting for her inside. Sunday knew that she had a Baltoy, but she also saw a new Pokemon with her, an older but obviously still strong and proud Persian. In her short conversations with her, Linske had mentioned to Sunday that she had more than just her main Pokemon Baltoy, but she never seen them. The old woman smiled, tucking one of the many strands of hair that had fell out of her bun behind her ear.<p>

"I usually don't supervise these trips... but think of this as a small thank you for all the help you have given me over the past few years." The old woman smiled at Sunday, and she noted that she was dressed differently than normal. Rather than her pantsuits and power suits, she was wearing a black sweater with a shawl, and a long billowy skirt, giving her much more of a grandma look to her. Sunday liked this look more, she felt more safe.

The woman began to explain the rules of the next few hours, even though Sunday had read the rules and even read many accounts of other famous trainers' versions of this day many times. She would be allowed to use her one Pokemon (Kupi) until she either 1. caught a Pokemon, or 2. her Pokemon was knocked out. Upon the moment that her Pokemon was knocked out, her instructor would weaken the Pokemon for her, but Sunday would still have to throw the ball herself. Although there was still a chance for Sunday to graduate if Kupi was knocked out, it would make her have to work very hard during the tournament section. She was provided with Ultra Balls for this section, which increased her chances of successfully capturing something. This was a test in knowing how to do this, not necessarily being good at it.

"Shall... shall we begin?" Sunday said, swallowing to clear a lump of nervousness which suddenly had choked her up.

Linske giggled. "Of course."

One thing that the Lavender Academy gave Sunday that she was certain that trainers in the big city Academies didn't have was an awareness of the wilderness. Long before the Academy had taught her how to find and track Pokemon, Sunday and her friends had enjoyed a life of exploring the woods. She remembered being five with her cousin and tracking a family of Caterpie across one of the many forests which surrounded Lavender. Luckily Butterfree didn't do much other than spray Stun Spores onto the girls, but it had been a long night while unable to move. They had developed a sense of where Pokemon were... and when to leave them alone because of that incident. Because of this sense, Sunday knew which areas she wanted to avoid. Although she liked Caterpie, one would be hard to train to match the other Pokemon in the week before the tournament. Weedle were stronger, but still not quite good enough. She only needed one Pidgey, and she felt that Kupi might get jealous with another Avian-type Pokemon. She was also afraid to catch anything that might scare Kupi, so Pikachu's with their type advantage was something she didn't want to risk. That left her few options, but Sunday knew where most trainers didn't tread in the area, where the more rare varieties tended to gather.

She and Ms. Linske waded through an army of Caterpies, Bellsprout (not mobile enough for Sunday's taste), a rare Growlithe (although incredibly obedient and loyal when trained, they were hard to use upon first capturing them, and she didn't have the time), and she saw a Surskit but it quickly escaped. After she had chased the Surskit for about ten minutes and Kupi lost sight of it, she sat down on a log, depressed. She had read that it was hard, but she just hadn't realized before. She had just gone out and got the first Pokemon she saw in the case of Kupi, she didn't know how hard this was. Ms. Linske, in incredibly good spirits (and apparently shape, since she had kept up with Sunday perfectly) plopped her frail looking frame down next to the girl.

Sunday hung her head in shame. She knew it would be a bit of a search to find the right Pokemon, but she didn't think it would be this hard. Some of those Bellsprout were starting to look mighty good. She suddenly heard a noise that she thought might be that Growlithe growling. Until she realized that it was her stomach.

"Did you bring any food?" Linske said offhandedly. Sunday hadn't, she thought that she would be in and out. Her mother had even knowingly offered to pack her a lunch the night before, but Sunday had confidently turned it down.

Linske just smiled in a grand motherly fashion, as she reached into her bag and pulled out four sandwiches and a quartz crystal. She gave Sunday and Kupi one each, kept one for herself and gave one to her Persian. She pressed the crystal into the chest of her Baltoy, the surface of which rippled with psychic power, and it sunk into it. Sunday watched with awe, and all her worries were forgotten.

"These two are all I have left you know. I've only ever had four. Tops here was my first of course." She patted her Baltoy's head in an endearing way. She was speaking in a voice that drew Sunday in, it was a storyteller's voice. "Then I got good old Precious here. Found him as a Meowth kitten rummaging in the garbage in Slateport. Was so proud of him when he won the Heat Badge all by himself! Evolved right after that battle you know. I won a Staryu from a Game Corner. Gave it to my niece in Cerulean. I didn't use it that much, and I'm bad at taking care of water Pokemon. I used to have a Seaking too, named Bass Mouth. Had an awful temperament, got worse as he got older. Ended up releasing him in the Water Sanctuary in Cerulean, I check on him now and again. The thing about them Sunday, is that I worked hard for them all. Tops here took me two days to find. I'm not saying take two days, but be patient." Sunday finally remembered why they were out here, Linske's hand on her shoulder gently pulling her back to reality. Sunday smiled at Linske, her story definitely gave her the heart to continue on.

"Before we start to search again... how many badges do you have?" Sunday asked. She had only heard Linske mention it off-handedly before, she never knew how many for certain she actually had. Linske opened her shawl, and pinned to the inside was four badges. Sunday's eyes shot up, and her mouth opened a little bit.

"Stone, Knuckle, Heat, and Balance. Me and my party worked hard for that. Now close your mouth dear, lets go find you another partner." Linske stood, and Sunday rose with her.

* * *

><p>They had walked another hour, this time in much higher spirits, when they heard a sound that Sunday didn't recognize. It was a buzzing noise, and it wasn't anything she had ever heard before. Liske couldn't hear it, but admitted that her hearing wasn't as good as it used to be. However, as they got closer and Liske began to be able to hear bits of things, she placed a hand on Sunday's shoulder.<p>

"Careful now. That buzzing is either... a Beedril, or perhaps Combee, colony. I recognize that buzzing now. If its Combee we'll be fine, they're nice and don't really mind being caught, they're docile. Just hold up something sweet, and they'll come right to you. Weedles and Beedrils are dangerous though. More likely to be one of those, Combee have been mostly domesticated for their honey... we can try though." Liske said, implying that she hoped for the best, but to express caution. She began rummaging in her bag.

"I have some candy here somewhere... that should be good enough for a stray Combee." She handed her a chocolate bar, which admittedly was something Sunday wanted to keep for herself just a bit. She might have snuck a little bit of it if she wasn't afraid that a little missing chocolate would scare away the possible Combee that awaited her. She knew they weren't seen in this area, catching one would be a super rare scoop. They weren't super strong, but they could fly agilely, and they took orders well.

As they got closer to the source of the buzzing, it grew unbelievably loud. It was coming from a clearing up ahead, but aside from flashes of yellow through the trees, she couldn't see anything. She was set to just walk right into the clearing, when she felt Liske firmly grab the back of her dress and pull her back. The old woman opened her mouth, obviously yelling something, but it was drowned out by the buzzing. She looked frustrated for a moment, but just pointed to the chocolate bar.

Sunday didn't get it, but she opened the chocolate bar, thinking maybe she would understand if the wrapper was off somehow. For a moment from the corner of her eye, Sunday thought she saw a single Beedril bulleting for her. She would have loved to catch one, but she was pretty sure Kupi would be in serious danger. She was relieved when she realized that her dreams were coming true and that it was in fact a Combee.

And it was a female, lucky her. She could tell by the pinkish area on what she guessed she would call its forehead. Lucky because she didn't want a male, the males didn't evolve.

It hovered in front of her arm, licking and nibbling the chocolate. Liske grabbed Sunday's other wrist, and started pulling her away from the clearing. When the buzzing was nearly gone from their ears and the chocolate ran out, the Combee began to circle around Sunday, expecting more.

"I don't even think it will resist, just press the ball gently against its body, don't throw it. May startle it. It will probably be less freaked out if you press it against the honeycomb part. What a lucky second Pokemon. You find them all over Sinnoh, but almost never here." The old woman looked wistful as she kneeled and scratched behind the ear of Precious.

She did just that. The button clicked, and as little yellow Pokemon turned into red energy, it made a happy little noise, obviously expecting much more sweet treats. Sunday smiled. If she played her cards right, she might just win the entire graduation tournament. Her and Linske began the long trek back to the Academy.

* * *

><p>On the long walk back to the Academy (Linske apologized profusely, saying she hadn't realized how far out they had gone) Sunday debated what to name the Combee. She had an hour and a half to decide. When she had named Kupi, she had been ten years old, imitating a noise of surprise that the Pidgey had made two days after being caught. She didn't much feel like naming her Combee "Bzzzz," the only noise that she knew Combee made.<p>

"I can't really help you on that, every trainer has their own themes or styles for names." Linske said regretfully when Sunday finally asked her. "A tip I can give you though, do you want to name it for the form of Combee, or do you want to try to evolve it in the future and name it in hopes of that? Mind you, I have to register it's name in the computer system when we get back, so hurry up."

That was an aspect Sunday had not thought about. She knew little about Vespiquen, other than that it was one of the stronger bug types.

Did she want a cute name for her new addition? Or a cool one? Maybe a beautiful name would be better. Sunday was overwhelmed. Her new Pokemon would be using this name for the rest of it's life. If she took two days to find a cute name for Kupi, how long would she take to pick this one? Well she only had about a half an hour left, so it wouldn't take two days.

She released the Combee from its ball. Most Pokemon were surly when first released, Kupi had straight up refused to get down from the rafters of her room for a day, but the Combee sweetly buzzed around her, looking for more sweets. Not finding any, the Combee went to placidly floating around her. Sunday sighed in relief, this Pokemon seemed to have a pretty good temperament. Even when she reached out her hand to gently touch the Pokemon's wax shield, the Combee didn't seem to care.

"I... I want to avoid common names, like Honey, or Comb, or Bee, or Queen." Sunday mused out loud to Combee, and to a degree she was also seeking approval from Linske. "I was thinking taking a trait I want you to have Ms. Combee... and making it pretty or something. Victory? Victoria? No, fancy human names on Pokemon usually weird me out. Queenial? No, that is strange. Regal. I want you to be a regal Vespiquen. Regalia?" Sunday thought to herself for a moment, and Linske looked side-long at her.

"I like that name for a Vespiquen, but for a Combee it is a bit fancy." She said to Linske after a few thoughtful seconds. Linske just smiled. "Okay, Regalia it is."

The Combee didn't seem to acknowledge that an important moment had occurred. It just made a happy chattering noise.

And Regalia happily whizzed around.


	2. Chapter 2: End of School Days

A/N: Oh goodness that chapter just dragged on.

Also, if you're expecting an update every week... stop that. This is more of an occasional hobby so I'm not going to update very often.

* * *

><p>Sunday hadn't realized the challenge of trying to train a Pokemon in a week. In the three days since Regalia's capture, the only things she had trained into her head was what "Dodge!" "Gust!" and "Ram it!", which she read was the first things that she should teach a Combee. She hoped that her classmates were having the same progress, she was afraid that she was behind.<p>

She was happy that Regalia easily learned Gust, the quick winds were a long range attack and would be useful against Pokemon that couldn't fly. The little bee Pokemon was a bit lacking in maneuvering, but she attributed that to her bulky honeycomb shell. She was happy that she had caught a single Combee, they often came in bundles of two or three, their honeycomb shells were bondable to that they could create walls to protect their Vespiquen. She was still pretty bulky and clumsy, but Sunday imagined Regalia would be even worse in the air if there were three Regalias... stuck together.

They were in her extensive backyard. Because it was an old house, it was surrounded by a high stone wall, and it had a large lawn. The style back then was perfect for her purposes today. Perfect for the secretive Pokemon trainer.

"Regalia, dodge!" Sunday yelled, pulling out a Frisbee, and throwing it at her newest addition. Her aim was right on of course, she had been doing this with Kupi for years. For the past few hours, Regalia had really gotten the hang of that command, and the little bee rolled out of the way. She thought it was about time to change it up.

"Kupi! Get 'er!... go easy though." The brown bird threw itself from its perch on the gutter of the house faster than a thrown Frisbee, but by no means her fastest.

"Regalia, dodge!" Sunday yelled, pointing at Kupi.

The black and yellow bee tried to roll out of the way, but Kupi still grazed her honeycomb shell. Sunday smiled, it was better than she had expected. The fact that Regalia hadn't been hit out of the sky meant that she was making a lot of progress. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>Sunday had left a window open the night before, so on the morning of the tournament she awoke to a cold breeze blowing across her body. She had fitfully kicked the blankets off of herself the night before. She woke instantly, the cold air and her nerves quickly waking her up enough that she knew that she would be unable to fall asleep again. She looked over at her clock. 6:30 in the morning. About an hour and a half before she intended to get up. It would take her about an hour to get ready (if she moved fast, which is what she had intended to do), and about an hour to walk to the staging ground for the tournament, which would give her about a half an hour of extra time. She guessed that this way, she would actually be able to get ready.<p>

The result of her extra time was that she didn't look like the nervous wreck she was predicting she would be. She spent an extra half an hour getting ready, brushing out her hair, and putting on her best sundress (pure white, with lace on the hem. With a matching sunhat of course.). For the last time, or at least the last time for awhile, she put on her uncomfortable Mary-janes. Looking in the mirror, she supposed she might look a bit fancy, but she couldn't remember what the other people had worn in the past years, she had been focused on only the Pokemon.

This of course, left her with an hour. Upon hearing her first stir, Kupi had hopped from her perch and into the warm indent on the bed that Sunday had vacated, and Regalia had zipped in from the tree house in yard. She had been sleeping there ever since Sunday had brought her home, the Combee apparently found the room too warm. Sunday decided to spend the hour petting, and giving pep-talks to, her team.

Finally, 9:00 rolled around, and it was time for her to leave for the staging grounds. It was about 3 hours until the tournament would kick off, so her mother was going to drive in later. She gave her a bag with a lunch in it, a kiss for good luck on her forehead, and sent her off down the road.

About half-an-hour down the road, she met up with her two friends: Tundra and Timber. Twin brothers, she hadn't really ever talked to them until last year, but after they had, they had quickly become close friends. Tundra a male Nidoran, and Timber a Voltorb. She was lucky this wasn't a doubles tournament, the two would take the first place without question. However divided, she might have a chance.

"How are you two this morning? Rolly and Hyperion doing well?" Sunday said weakly, not realizing until after she had spoke that her voice was nerve-gripped.

"I'm good, Hyperion seems a bit moody... I might have overdone his reaction training." Tundra said, sounding confident while admitting his possible mistake.. His Nidoran trotted alongside him, not hopping around playfully like he usually did, rather he looked around, very wary. Tundra dressed simply in a black t-shirt and khaki shorts with plain sneakers. He walked with his hands in his pockets, seeming pretty calm.

"Rolly is fine." Timber said, seeming a bit moody as well. His Voltorb was in one of his hands, the ball-shaped creature lounged comfortably, or seemed comfortable, not seeming like it understood anything out of the ordinary was happening today. Timber was dressed in a white t-shirt, with a black studded vest over it. He wore tight black jeans, and flashy leather boots that went halfway up his calf.

The two twins looked totally different, mirroring their personality differences. Of course, Sunday couldn't help but notice the extra pokeball on each of their waists. Sunday couldn't wait to figure out what her friends had caught. She knew that Timber planned to go to their hometown of Vermillion City and become a gym-trainer there, and Tundra would probably tag along and do something incredibly successful and probably not entirely on purpose, Tundra was after all probably one of the smartest people that she had ever met.

"How are you? You seem kind of nervous Sunday." Tundra said to Sunday, picking up on her obvious nerves. Tundra was someone who liked everyone to be happy and calm.  
>"Just... nerves. You know. How it goes. You know." Sunday said, looking down at her shiny black shoes. She had prepared for this day, and she knew that she would be fine once the battling started, but she would allow herself to be nervous until then. The boys knew how she felt, so wordlessly they continued to the staging grounds.<p>

* * *

><p>There were 16 people in the tournament, the fourteen that were in her class, and two who had failed the year before.<p>

That meant that there would be four rounds. Even if she lost in the first round, Sunday would have at least two battles: if you lost in the first round, you were matched up with another first round loser and you battled again. They wanted to test the ability to keep cool and to keep a handle on their Pokemon, not how the students ranked. She had the knowledge that unless something catastrophic happened, she would be graduating today. She wasn't too concerned though, some of her classmates had virtually never beaten her, and this confidence alone was able to calm her nerves to a degree.

So she found herself standing on the sidelines of the battle arena, waiting for the tournament bracket to be displayed on the large scoreboard that was on the side of it. The large arena was in the schoolyard, and was ringed by wooden bleachers that were set a small distance away. Pokemon battles didn't get too terribly destructive at this stage, so there weren't even any protective barriers between the football field sized arena and the seating. The seating was nearly full, this was really the only event that everyone in Lavender enjoyed, it was cheap, only a few hours long, and had great food and a small party afterwards. It was perfect for people of all ages and during a warm month so most of the townspeople got in on it. While the stands had filled up, Sunday and Tundra had hung out in the tent set aside for the participants, while Timber had gone off to be... Timber. This usually meant listening to his music loudly while looking at other people like he hated them. For years, everyone but Tundra had wondered if he actually did hate everyone, but nobody had ever actually figured out the answer to that question.

But with half an hour to go, a teacher had gathered them all up to the sidelines, where they were to await the tournament bracket being posted. The screen began to flash, and the bracket of the 16 participants begin to flash across the slots of the tree. When it finally settled, Sunday's eyes bulged as she quickly scanned who was placed where. It looked that she would have a relatively easy time until the final round, which she had no doubt she would reach. However, then she would have the final against the winner of the other side, which included both Tundra and Timber, probably the best trainers she knew in the school.

She took a deep breath as she returned to the tent, she would have to await her round in there. To stop them from learning each other's strategies before they battled, they put all the battlers in a tent when they weren't battling, making it truly fair. For the first time during the day, Sunday's hands unclenched from her sides. It was time for her to show everyone that she, a girl who had been made fun of for catching a PIdgey, could truly shine.

* * *

><p>Sunday was yet again nervous. Since about the age of 9, when Sunday's mother had thought her old enough to witness the violence that was battling, Sunday had been attending the graduation tournaments. She had thought that all of the first rounds would happen at one time. Instead, the first eight competitors in the East Tree battled until the East Tree was finished, and then the West Tree would battle it out, and finally the winner of each Tree would battle it out.<p>

It had been a couple of hours, and although she had heard cheers and commentary that told her about her opponents, she was still incredibly nervous. She knew she should probably be paying attention to what was happening outside as much as she could, but she instead ended up sipping punch and listening to her classmates nervously chat about what they were going to do. Unfortunately Timber and Tundra were in the East Tree, so she was alone with people she didn't much care about.

To make it worse, her first round opponent was Fran Norberto. Fran was a Ghost freak. That was where her and Sunday began their disagreements in life. Fran liked to dress in all black, dark makeup, dark hair dye, dark everything. And worst of all, in Sunday's opinion, was Fran dark-as-tar personality. She was surly and rude, and liked to see others unhappy. When they were twelve, Fran and her Gastly had somehow filled Sunday's desk with pudding. Incredibly annoying and sticky, Fran's pranks got darker and usually far more painful. Although they had finally been put to a stop after someone had broken their wrist, Fran had still been an absolute bitch to everyone up to this point. She wasn't particularly smart, but she was a good trainer in the way that her Pokemon were incredibly vicious battlers, despite their loving loyalty to her. Fran was a pretty unpleasant person in Sunday's eyes, but what made it even worse is that Fran disliked Sunday more than everyone else it seemed. She was unaware what exactly made Fran dislike her, but Sunday had done her share of bad things in retaliation, so she was sure it was just an escalated situation. One of the reasons that Sunday was happy to leave was to leave Fran behind, although recently she learned that Fran planned to leave Lavender as well.

Sunday was surprised when Fran approached her in the tent, maybe she wanted to make amends before they left. Sunday doubted it, but if Fran apologized she would at least pretend to reciprocate her feelings. Fran's face was twisted in an unpleasant smirk, and Sunday inwardly sighed at was about to be most assuredly a not fun experience.

"I'm going to crush you into the ground." Fran said. Sunday had always thought Fran had a thick brutish voice, while Fran had mentioned that to her, Sunday's voice was high pitched and squeaky.

"You're unpleasant. Go away, or should Kupi blow you away again?" Sunday said back, already irritated. She rested her hand on Kupi's pokeball. She had long ago learned that Kupi was able to whip up winds powerful enough to cause damage to Fran's Gastly, the gaseous creature was damaged from some of its vaporous body being blown away. She had made sure Regalia's Gust was powerful enough for this as well, Fran's Gastly was formidable against Pokemon who used their own bodies for all of their attacks.

"Fran, this is going to be our final encounter. I am graduating from you, and from this town, got it?" Sunday said, suddenly intense. Her sudden intensity seemed to almost shock Fran, who just seemed to only be able to muster a sneer, and she quickly walked back to the refreshment table. Fran had only solidified Sunday's resolve, she wanted to not only destroy Fran in a Pokemon battle, but she also wanted to get the hell out of Lavender Town. For the second time that day, Sunday's hands unclenched, and she approached a few of her classmates and began to chat.

* * *

><p>The wind blew harshly on Sunday and Fran, as took their places on the opposite sides of the arena. It was about the size of a football field but probably a little smaller, with a brown dirt ground with boundaries marked on it in white chalk, which she only noticed in the back of her mind.. In official arenas like this, there was a box that the trainers weren't supposed to leave, although no rules were officially broken if you left it, only if you interfered with the battle were you disqualified. These rules ran in her head like a broken record, and Sunday realized that she wasn't really paying attention to anything, even the Announcer who was talking non-stop, which she tended to do when nervous. Her mother had called it stage fright. Sunday called it irritating.<p>

She vaguely heard the Announcer tell the audience it was going to be a one on one battle, with both parties using two Pokemon. Although Sunday had heard this many times, it was the first time that she had heard it in reference to herself. Suddenly everything was in focus, from the wind lapping over her skin, to the pokeballs on her belt. Especially the pokeballs. They felt like they had a weight of a million pounds each, and she was just itching to grab one and throw it off her.

"The Pokemon will fight until they are unable to battle anymore, or the trainers give up!" The Announcer said, "Let this be a clean battle. Go!" Sunday knew the Announcer didn't feel a need to tell them that it was going to be a clean battle, but she thought that he probably should. It was Fran, and although Sunday wanted to graduate, she wanted this to be brutal.

At the sound of go, Fran whipped a pokeball off out of the black messenger bag she wore, and chucked it onto the field. Damn, Fran had gone first. As Sunday unattached a pokeball from her belt, Fran's Gastly burst out of its Pokeball, and began to race skyward. Sunday chucked her ball, and Kupi burst out. She had trained Kupi to fly upwards upon release, but before she had the chance, Fran's Gastly came slamming down on top of her, and Kupi fell to the ground. She was only a little dazed as she quickly recovered and Sunday winced. It wouldn't do good for the judges to see that.

"Go Kupi! Take to the sky!" Sunday yelled at her feathered friend. Kupi tried to comply, but Gastly stayed above her, forcing her downwards again. She couldn't effectively aim gusts above her, as she would have to fly upside down and fan gusts at the Ghost type at the same time, Fran had effectively blocked her from blowing away her Ghost.

"Kupi, stop trying to get Gastly and land!" Sunday said in a half-panic that she hoped wasn't showing. She couldn't fly through the Gastly, it had enough corporealness that it could latch itself to Kupi's face, suffocating her until she fainted. She needed Kupi to conserve her energy while she thought of what to do. What were Ghosts weak against? They were dispelled by fire, strong enough winds, and anything that was strong enough to break it up. And Ground. Ghost types like Gastly couldn't touch dirt without it being painful! They could pass through any kind of material or object, but not the planet itself. Even sandstorms could knock them out. Sunday knew what she needed to do.

"Kupi, fly close to the ground and build up speed!" Sunday said, and Kupi began to fly back and forth across the arena as she followed Sunday's command. Fran's face contorted into panicked thought for the first time in the match. What was Sunday up to? She didn't want to find out.

"Gastly, get down there and crush that little brown fluff ball!" Fran screeched. She was over-confident, she had already shown great skill in blocking Kupi from reaching the sky, where she had the advantage. Fran's Gastly shot down towards Kupi, and at this level of the ground, it was just as fast as the brown bird.

Sunday was about to use a technique that she hadn't used with Kupi for at least a year, because she hadn't seen a use for it until now.

"Kupi! Sand Attack!" She yelled, and the small brown bird brought down a wing to the ground and spun, crashing softly into the ground as she whipped up a small wall of sand and dirt that Gastly ran into. The purple mist pokemon flew back as if someone had just punched it with great force, and its edges grew fainter and began to wobble more, a sign that it had fainted and was losing control of its body. Fran quickly returned the Ghost as Kupi let out a triumphant screech and took to the sky.

"Kupi! Return!" Sunday cried happily as Kupi's pokeball shot out a beam of energy and the bird was put back into its ball. She would feed Kupi an extra snack tonight for executing that tactic so well. She hadn't used Sand Attack in a long time as it was mostly a technique to lower your opponents accuracy, but she would have to explore its other options as well.

"Go!" Fran yelled, throwing another pokeball. A black bird exploded out, and made a loud crowing noise that was its namesake. Sunday had only seen pictures of Murkrow, they were extremely rare in Johto! Sunday forgot she was battling for a moment as she stared at the rare creature, but quickly remembered that she had a rare one of her own. Maybe sending out Regalia against Murkrow wasn't the best idea, but she didn't want to use Kupi for both, she wouldn't score as well. Besides if Regalia did fail, she still had Kupi to fall back on.

"Go! Regalia!" Sunday said exuberantly as she tossed the ball onto the battlefield. The happy little bee pokemon burst out, more than ready to show her trainer what she could do. She had tried to train her to burst out of her pokeball and at her opponent, and it had paid off. The bee's honeycomb shell, great for a defense, was also good a hard object to hit her opponent's with. The bee slammed into the Murkrow, sending it bouncing down the field from where it had been pecking the ground. Had Fran even taught the thing how to prepare itself for a fight?

If the dumb thing didn't realize it was fighting before, it realized it now. The Dark type quickly picked itself up, and fanned out its wings, giving a long flap and shooting up towards the sky. Sunday could tell Fran hadn't trained the thing well, it had done so without a single command from her, and Fran looked kind of dazed.

Sunday on the other hand was focused, so focused that she didn't even realize the cheers from the crowd, most of them had never seen a Murkrow much less a Combee, this was sizing up to be an exciting day for battling!

"Go Regalia, knock that ink stain from the sky! Gust!" She commanded. Regalia had tiny wings, but those were deceptive. When she tried, she could whip up a storm. Where Kupi exceeded in speed and physical strength, Regalia was already rivaling her in her ability to whip up winds. The air was visibly disturbed, and small gusts began buffeting the black flying pokemon. Fran, realizing her mistake, finally reigned in her Murkrow and ordered it to dive bomb the Combee.

"Dodge!" Sunday yelled, and Regalia had more than enough time to side-fly the bullet-like attack. Sunday had come up with a technique with Kupi years ago, but the bird wasn't suited for it. In the few days she had adapted it to Regalia, although she wasn't terribly confident with it. However, it was now or never.

"Regalia!" Sunday yelled in her most confident commanding voice yet, "Gust Tackle!" The small yellow pokemon turned downwards towards the black bird pokemon, which was trying to circle back up to peck her. Regalia flapped her wings as if she were about to use gust, but spun and tackled towards the bird at the same time. The result was a fast moving honeycomb bullet that slammed into the bird at the same time that winds buffeted it downwards, slamming it into the ground.

Suddenly the world returned to Sunday, and she heard the cheering of the crowd as Fran returned the sad little black pile that was her Pokemon and ran towards the Pokecenter's complimentary tent. Sunday smiled.

"Oh this is gonna be a good day."

* * *

><p>Sunday easily won the next two rounds, taking down a couple Zubats from one trainer, participating in a large aerial battle with just Kupi causing the crowd to "ooh" and "ah" at the complex maneuvers they were performing, and the other trainer had an Oddish and Pachirisu. The Pachirisu should have been a problem, but the trainer hadn't taught it to correctly aim its electricity at her flying types, and it was obvious the small white Pokemon had only used its electricity as a defense mechanism.<p>

Because of her success, Sunday strode into the last round incredibly confident. Her heart was soaring and she felt solid and strong, as if she could lift an entire Donphan. She wasn't aware of who had won, she had become unfocused in the last match of the other bracket, but she knew that the round contained Timber and Tundra. She had fears about facing both of them. Tundra was skilled, and Tundra had a definite type advantage.

"Sunday Lillium!"

The sound of her name from outside the tent drew her attention, and Sunday smoothed her dress for the last time before her match. She checked to make sure that both her Pokemon's balls were secure on her belt, and somehow managed to focus long enough to exit her canvas sanctuary.

And there, Timber stared at her from across the arena.

* * *

><p>Sunday was in a pickle. Regalia had already been shocked out of the sky, the Pikachu that Timber had caught had made quick work of her clumsy flying bug. Sunday's heart had dropped when she saw it plummet, but luckily she kept it together enough to return her to her pokeball before she hit the ground.<p>

She had Kupi out of her ball, and with a practiced command she shot across the field with a burst of speed and quickly overwhelmed the small yellow mouse before it really knew what was happening. This technique only really worked on not-long-trained Pokemon, and only really worked because Kupi was strong. Knowing that now it was her Kupi versus Timber's Rolly.

"This doesn't look good, but we've overcome more than a silly Voltorb!" Sunday saw Timber finally fiddling with the Pokeball on his belt. As he tossed out the pokeball, Sunday jumped and threw out her arm to give Kupi a boost. "Here we go!"

Beautiful as Rolly was, it was also incredibly frustrating. Try as she might, Kupi couldn't get close enough to score in an attack. After ten minutes of intense and admittedly cool looking acrobatics, Sunday decided that she couldn't tire Kupi out. She would just have to go for it.

"Kupi! Up high! Down low!" Sunday commanded. She supposed that to people who hadn't been around her long might think she sounded silly, but if she wanted to give a command fast and slightly cryptically, this was the way to go.

Kupi flew upwards until she was very high, and then dove downwards, flying inches parallel from the ground she shot towards Rolly before it had time to react. Twenty feet from Rolly, Timber gave the command for Thundershock. Ten feet away Rolly began to shoot electricity at the bird. The first two bolts only singed Kupi's feathers, but the third slammed into the bird, and it dropped to the ground with a dull thump, followed by three more as it bounced and rolled because of the speed it had been traveling.

Before she even remembered what was happening, before the Announcer had declared the match, before Kupi had even stopped rolling, Sunday sprinted across the battlefield. She didn't notice the tight black shiny shoes pinching her feet, and she didn't notice her own scraped knees when she fell onto them to pick up her bird, she only noticed that her companion wasn't moving.

Kupi gave a feeble cheep, and Sunday cradled her to her chest, and she felt her bird's heartbeat strong and unending. Although battered and obviously weak, her bird wasn't battle ready by any means, but she knew that it was alright.

She stood up, and walked towards the competitor/medical tent, not even noticing the crowd surrounding and congratulating her friend. She had something more important to do.


	3. Chapter 3: On the Road to Fuschia

A/N: You know that fic that you always INTEND to go back to and update and then never do and then you realize its been two years and holy crap you still haven't updated it? Yeah, this was that fic for me. This chapter is a little boring, but I'm mostly just doing setup. Sorry! 

* * *

><p>She scooped up Kupi, absolutely devastated. It was understandable to most people, she had just lost in the championship match of her very first battling tournament; if only that had been the reason she was upset. Kupi was Sunday's partner, her greatest friend and ally, and now she was injured all because Sunday had decided to go in for a reckless charge. She felt like shit, and she had acted like shit so she deserved it. The small avian still hadn't made a noise other than the faint sound of her breathing in the thirty seconds or so it had taken her to quickly walk back to the Poke Center tent. She shouldered her way past the hanging flaps, trying to hold down the tears because Arceus knows she didn't need to start boohooing all over her injured baby.<p>

She made a beeline for the counter, and placed her on the surface for the woman behind it to examine. The pink haired woman (a strange uniform requirement from the Pokecenter HQ) had kind eyes, and they calmed Sunday down as the woman's hands flew over the roughed up brown feathers, and alternatively, over the keys of her diagnostic equipment. The woman's facial expression never wavered from one of content calmness, and Sunday watched that face for any change that might signal that she had injured her closest friend beyond repair. After the woman hadn't said anything for nearly a minute, Sunday was ready to burst out in tears, and probably would have that very instant if the woman hadn't shut down her instruments, and began swaddling Kupi in blankets.

"I'm wrapping her like this because you look like the type to want to carry her. Your Pidgey will be fine; she was just knocked out from the shock, and probably bruised herself from hitting the ground. Expect her to be sore and a bit weak the next couple days, but otherwise she should be fine!" The woman said all of this slowly to make sure Sunday would understand that Kupi was going to be alright. Sunday bit her lip and once again fought back the cascade that threatened to spill from her eyes. She let go of the death grip that she had kept on her sundress, and reached out to pick up her swaddled bird-baby gently, as if almost afraid to touch her. The Pokecenter worker, noticing her fear, picked up the bundle and softly yet firmly shoved Kupi into Sunday's arms. With her patient 'discharged,' the woman chuckled, turned around, and went to go check on a couple of the slightly more injured Pokémon that had required monitoring.

Sunday slipped out of the tent. She knew she should congratulate Timber, but she just couldn't find the strength to go be happy for her friend. It wasn't that she harbored poor feelings, but right at that moment she wanted to go home, cuddle Kupi, and think of every single way she could prevent her friend from being hurt again. 

* * *

><p>The ride home with her mother wasn't terribly awkward as it was tense. Sunday was supposed to ride home with her mother, but without even thinking about it, instinct had made her begin the journey home. About fifteen minutes into the walk, her mother pulled up in the family van, her younger sister craning her neck curiously in the backseat, her father smiling (seemingly amused) in the front. Her mother looked angry and it looked like a scolding was on its way, but seeing the facial expression that Sunday held her mother quietly told her to get in.<p>

Blessedly, her family let her quietly ride all the way home without breaking the moment she had with the feathered bundle in her arms.

When the family van squeaked to a stop, Sunday got out of the van and quickly rushed up the steps, hoping to avoid any sort of confrontation with anyone in the family. Her sister simply wouldn't understand why she was upset, she was only eight. Her dad was the kind of man to give unasked for advice, and to be content that his daughter was gaining life experiences like this. Her mother would try to comfort her, but mostly just make it worse somehow. She unlocked the door and hurried to her room. Upon entering, she released Regalia from her Pokeball, kicked off her shoes and shucked off her dress. In her underwear and pantyhose, Sunday climbed into bed with her little bird and wept.

* * *

><p>For the first night and the day after, Sunday didn't get out of bed. That night she mostly cried the whole time, and when Kupi awoke with her in the morning she laughed and cuddle the bird, much to it bemused chirps. Still too weak to really do anything, Kupi seemed to enjoy the attention Sunday heaped on her as she stayed and read and watched TV, not leaving the bird's side. Sunday only got up to change into more acceptable PJs, feed Regalia, get food for Kupi and herself, and to occasionally use the restroom. Her father's Spearow made an occasional appearance to check on Kupi; she and Pecker had always been close, and Kupi seemed to appreciate the almost paternal care she received from the older Pokémon.<p>

Regalia seemed content to zip around her room and the rest of the house, letting out a trilling buzz which Sunday assumed meant she was happy. Obviously she hadn't been hurt in the match against the Pikachu (Sunday felt guilty for not remembering her when getting Kupi checked out.

She received a call around lunchtime informing her that her performance in the tournament was satisfactory and that she would be graduating in three days time. Sunday wasn't too terribly surprised, but it seemed to calm a hidden (if unlikely) fear that she had concealed from even herself. She wondered how it must feel to not graduate: there was usually one or two who just weren't ready. They spent the year in separate and less formal classes, mostly working on their ability to keep calm. They had both been in East Tree, and from what her mother had told her had given their opponents a run for their money with their year more of experience with their teams.

When it began to wind into the evening, she received a three-way call from Timber and Tundra. Yesterday's match wasn't mentioned other than a small congratulations between friends. Between the three, the match was over and ancient history. The topic of conversation quickly shifted to their plans for after the graduation ceremony. They still hadn't decided whether to go north to Cerulean, or South to Fuchsia. Both cities held Gyms, and both had been lauded as pretty cool places to go: Cerulean for its cool beaches and parties, and Fuchsia for its Zoo, Safari Zone, and various tourist attractions. Timber wanted to go north, the Water Gym up there would be at a disadvantage to his Electric types, Tundra wanted to go south, the Zoos and Safari Zone were "very educational and afforded rare opportunities." Sunday herself wasn't really sure which way she wanted to go; she just wanted to go somewhere. Unfortunately, this left the group in a stalemate of sorts. It wasn't a conflict that would cause the three to split up, Tundra and Timber were planning on staying with each other for life, and Sunday was definitely planning on teaming up for awhile, but it did grate on the three that a decision couldn't be made. They still had a few days, but this had been an ongoing discussion for a year, and things hadn't really moved in either direction; an end to this conversation wasn't really in sight. While she listened to Tundra and Timber bicker with each other for the hundredth time on the subject, she held the phone between her shoulder and cheek, and stroked her cooing little bird-baby in her lap. Kupi looked up at her, sleepy but loving as a bird can get. Sunday smiled at her and dazed out until she realized that Tundra was saying her name.

"Sunday… SUNDAY!" His voice burst through the receiver, irritated.

"What?! Sorry." Sunday replied sheepishly. She hadn't meant to zone out, but she had heard this conversation at least four million times. She heard Timber chuckle into his phone.

"We were bringing up for another vote… but I'm just going to assume that we're still at a stalemate." Timber said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Despite the fact that strategically if any of us have an advantage versus a gym we should go in that direction, but whatever."

Sunday cringed, Timber had a bit of a temper and she didn't exactly want to start out their journey with anybody in a sour mood. If they couldn't decide where to go, they couldn't exactly go anywhere though.

"I think whichever direction we go in, it will be better than here." Sunday finally said, breaking a short awkward silence. "Either way, this conversation is boring. Did you all see that performance by Elesa the other night? I actually like her album…"

The brothers sighed, and then launched into a long conversation on their favorite new music.

* * *

><p>The graduation ceremony was… unremarkable. Everyone in her class had graduated, as well as the two holdbacks. A slightly rare occasion, it was the first in six years that such a thing had occurred. Sunday was happy, she always felt terrible for those who were held back. It was a simple ceremony, they called up the trainers from a small set of chairs in the school's small theatre, showed some pictures from their progression from eightnine year olds to 17/18 year olds. Then they were handed a diploma, and a small album containing all the pictures that had just been shown. Sunday felt slightly emotional, but mostly excited. There would be a large banquet in town, and then the next day herself and most of the graduates who planned on leaving would set out. The hard life of the road wasn't incredibly appealing to most of the graduates, so only eight people she heard of planned on leaving, and a couple of those just wanted to immediately take up residence in larger cities.

The day also brought up some news that made things a lot easier. Rock Tunnel to the north had experienced a cave-in, it was closed until things were cleaned up, and was estimated to be closed a couple weeks. It was the shorter and less comfortable route to Cerulean, but unless they wanted to go to Saffron first (The Psychic trainers of Saffron were quite formidable), they couldn't go to Cerulean. Fuchsia's route however to the south was wide open. They decided to take the easy beachside route. Timber was in a slightly foul mood, but was in a much easier mood than if the other two had finally agreed on Tundra's route. This way, he had nobody to be mad at. This probably caused him to be far more surly, but Sunday was at least happy that he couldn't justifiably aim that anger at either herself or his brother.

Things had begun to unfold for the trio, and they decided to wholeheartedly (with a little pouting from Timber) enjoy their last night in Lavender.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the three met in the town square, where a small shindig had been thrown together to say goodbye to the departing trainers. The a few of the new trainers decided to go west to Saffron and then down to Celadon, a few were going to go to Celadon through a more rural route down to the South, and Sunday and the Twins were the only ones going the long route down to Fuchsia.<p>

Their guardians were all tearful and proud, but as the Twins had only known their grandmother for a few years, and Sunday didn't enjoy public displays of familial affection, their goodbyes were kept short and they quickly departed for the road. All three had the basic gear they needed: a few changes of clothing, some food, and money they had saved up over the years. As Timber had won a good portion of money from the tournament, as well as a tent and a small gas canister powered stove, he was the most prepared. He also bought some other bits and pieces of camping gear before they had left, and was generous in his doling out of equipment to his friends. His mood had improved considerably since the previous night, and although they weren't going the route that he wanted, he seemed to be happy that they were going somewhere.

The three were familiar with the area, they had taken a couple camping trips a day's walk from Town, so they were walking a familiar road. They were still ecstatic though, and when the road began following the beach, all three were laughing and talking constantly. All three were pretty close friends, and as all three of them knew, nothing was better than an adventure with friends.

All three of them released their Pokémon from their Pokeballs. Kupi was mostly recovered, but still slightly weak, so she alternated flying ahead with Regalia and the Spearow (named Uranus) that Tundra had caught, and resting on Sunday's shoulder. Rolly stayed in Timber's hand, and his Pikachu (named Bolty) and Tundra's Hyperion walked calmly besides their trainers. The beach was beautiful, and the weather was nice; they didn't have to worry about any storms taking them unawares. They saw a few wild Pokémon while they walked, but none of them appealed to the three, and they all avoided the trainers. They also ran into a few trainers, and battled a couple of their recent exclassmates. The three weren't known as some of the strongest in their class for no reason though, and they pretty easily defeated them. When they camped for the first night, it was in a good mood. They stayed up late talking and woke up long after dawn. Even though they were now in unexplored territory, this continued for a few days. They would talk and explore all day, maybe battle a couple trainers, and then continue on. Finally they reached Silence Bridge.

Silence Bridge wasn't really a bridge. It was a wooden floating dock that extended for a few hours' walk. A lot of fisherman trainers were on it, as well a small town (if it could even be called that) that was distinct for having the only Pokecenter between Lavender and Fuchsia. They agreed beforehand that if any trainers went after them, as they were mostly fishermen, that Timber could take care of them.

They could see people here and there throughout the dock, and could see the length of the ten or so miles that spanned between one edge of the huge bay and the other shore. The "town" sat in the middle, what looked like a dozen houses, a couple shops, and the bright red roof of the Pokecenter. They set off, and tried to plot out a route between shore one and two that would contain less trainers, their Pokémon needed a good checkup in the Pokecenter before they were ready to battle with utmost confidence. Their paranoia seemed to be a bit unfounded, and when they hit the town a little after noon all they had ran into was friendly older men who greeted them with morning greetings and left them to go on their merry way.

Upon reaching the town it looked just as it had from a distance: a little boring and run down. In addition to the dozen or so houses and the Pokecenter, there was a bait and tackle shop, a small grocery store, and a building that could only be advertised as a shack that had a sign bigger than the building itself.

"Old Man Guppie's Fun-Fangled Boat Tours?" Timber said, looking puzzled.

"Look at the note, it says it is great for trainers to catch Pokemon during. Paying for the tour gets you some bait and a net ball." Tundra said, looking more closely at the sign. "Bit of a steep price for a boat tour… but I think we could afford it. Plus they refund you half if you don't catch anything."

"Do they refund you half if you drown?" Sunday said, scoffing as she pointed at the barge that was attached to the dock next the shack. "Because I think that is far more likely." The old boat looked rickety, patched up, and altogether not too safe.

"Is has to be safe, the tours look like they've been around awhile. Old Man Guppie, whoever he is, is probably pretty experienced." Timber said, looking uncharacteristically excited.

"I'll sit it out. Not really interested in any of the Water Pokemon you could find in this area." Sunday said, "I'll just chill out in the Pokecenter if y'all want to go."

"Lets go Tundra. _We're_ going to get some sweetass Water types." Timber said, pulling out enough money for the both of them. Tundra shrugged, a free tour was a free tour, and followed his brother into the shack. Sunday went into the Pokecenter and went about getting the three a room.

Pokecenters were like hotels, hospitals, and speciality stores rolled into one. Sunday got them a three bed room for cheap; Pokecenters were cheap and clean, but not known for their great amenities or comfortable beds. Watching from the dining room of the Pokecenter, eating the first hot meal she had in days, she watched the barge launch itself into the bay with her two friends onboard, what looked like a couple fisherman, and a fifth passenger which caused her to snort and almost choke on her meatloaf.

Fran.

She doubted the Twins could see her, but she gave them a finger wiggle goodbye, sat back, and truly enjoyed her meal.

* * *

><p>As her phone had been dead a couple days, she hadn't been able to text or call back home. Upon retiring to her room, and before the Twins returned, she decided to call home. It was a short and uneventful chat with her mom. They exchanged small talk, and a small conversation about her sister receiving her first Pokemon in a year. Sunday was a little upset she would miss that, but it wasn't like she was going to stay home a whole year to do see it.<p>

After hanging up with her mom, she fell into an uneasy nap. She felt bad.

She didn't miss home.

* * *

><p>The Twins returned to the room, bickering.<p>

"Maybe I just like Electric types! It isn't like it hurts you none!" Timber said, a new Net Ball in his hand that Sunday hadn't seen before. It was blue with a black net pattern covering the top half. She sighed, she had wanted to have a relaxing night.

"I'm just saying that you need to branch out. It is going to be hard to advance too far if you only have one type. A lot of Gyms are strong against Electric!" Tundra said, dismissively. Tundra did this sometimes: ignored what Timber was saying in favor of what he thought was best.

"I'll show you, I'm gonna smash every Gym we come to!" Timber said. Obviously, Sunday thought, Tundra must have poked a nerve.

"I'm assuming you caught an electric type somehow? On a boat tour." Sunday said drily. She wasn't surprised, Timber had always expressed interest that Electric types were cool.

Wordlessly, Timber released his newest addition. A Chinchou popped out. Luckily they didn't need to breathe, so the Water-type was fine, if a little moist, on the floor. The small bluish body was squishy and almost jelly-like. It had a layer between the outside and its insides, but the insides were slightly visible. It had two antennae like projections on its head, and Sunday remembered that they were electrified, with two light producing bulb-like endings on the end.

"Meet Shocky. The Chinchou." Timber said, seemingly proud. Shocky replied by… doing nothing. It seemed pretty docile, and the bright yellow eyes it possessed placidly scanned the room but didn't seem at alarmed at its new surroundings.

Tundra released a ball as well, and a small purple shelled Pokemon popped out, making raspberry noises, its tongue protruding beyond its bumpy shell.

"This is… my Shellder. I'm kind of on the fence about him, I felt pressured near the end and ended up hooking him while my hooked scraped the bottom. I think I'm gonna name him Neptune." Tundra said, looking almost embarrassed. "I definitely never thought I'd have a Shellder. I've heard their Water Gun can get pretty forceful though. Plus it is amphibious, which is a plus."

"Oh, Fran caught something too. I think it is called a Carvanha?" Timber said. He wasn't the most learned about Pokemon, but it was mostly due to lack of motivation.

"It was. Water and Dark type. Look out, those are known to be vicious and strong." Tundra said, confirming his brother's comment. The three didn't really care though, hopefully they would never see the dark girl again. She had set out all alone, Fran didn't really have any friends. She was a semi-talented trainer, but nothing to sneeze at. Sunday sincerely hoped that they wouldn't run into her in Fucshia.

Timber picked up Shocky, taking care to avoid his antennae, and placed him on his bedside table. Rolly got deposited on the other pillow, and Bolty curled up by his feet.

Tundra got into much the same position. His Shellder was placed on the end table farthest from him, its loud noises quieted down to a dull fart, and Hyperion curled up on the pillow. They left the window ajar enough that the three flying types could get in and out, and Sunday began doing laundry.

She had been wearing her dresses the whole time, but had realized that perhaps she should have packed some sort of leggings; she was getting a bit chilly at night. She sighed, maybe when she got to Fuschia, maybe another day away, she could buy a pair. They all certainly had the money to buy souveniers and really whatever random needs popped into their life, but she didn't really want to waste her money because she had decided to pack pretty. She had only brought a few dresses, a pair of fashionable to very practical boots, a few pairs of undergarments, a swimsuit, and an light jacket. She wanted to be pretty but... she was already beginning to question her wardrobe choices only a few days into her journey. She had tried to walk that line between cute and practical... and had fallen off the line. She envied the boys, they could bring whatever they wanted and it was fine.

Being a girl was hard.


End file.
